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What will I study?

Overview

Course Structure

Students must complete eight subjects in total.

Students who do not have a law degree must complete Principles of International Law, as well as at least six subjects from the prescribed list (including the compulsory subject International Law and Development). Students may choose an eighth subject from those available in the Melbourne Law Masters.

Students with a law degree must complete at least six subjects from the prescribed list (including the compulsory subject International Law and Development). Students may choose their final two subjects from those available in the Melbourne Law Masters (excluding Fundamentals of the Common Law).

Subject Timing and Format

The Melbourne Law Masters program has been designed around the busy schedules of working professionals. Subjects are offered from February to December each year.

Most subjects are taught intensively, giving you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the subject content. Intensive subjects are typically taught over five days, either from Monday–Friday or Wednesday–Tuesday, excluding the weekend. This intensive format enables students from interstate or overseas to fly to Melbourne to attend class. Semester-length subjects are generally taught for two hours in the evening each week during the semester.

Subjects are taught in an interactive seminar style and class sizes normally range from 20 to 30 students.

Duration

As a student, you will need to enrol in at least one subject per semester and will have a maximum of four years to complete the course, including any leave of absence.

Sample course plan

View some sample course plans to help you select subjects that will meet the requirements for this degree.

Sample course plan - 1 year full time

KEY

Compulsory

Elective

Year 1

Total

100 Points

Semester 1

12.5 Points

Compulsory

12.5 Points

Month 1

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 2

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 3

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 4

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 5

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 6

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 7

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Sample course plan - 2 years part time

KEY

Elective

Year 1

Total

50 Points

Month 1

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 2

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 3

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 4

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Year 2

Total

50 Points

Month 1

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 2

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 3

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Month 4

12.5 Points

Elective

12.5 Points

Explore this course

Explore the subjects you could choose as part of this degree.

Asian Law

NameCredit points

Commercial Law in Asia12.5

Commercial Law in Asia

The emergence of Asia as an economic powerhouse is driving enormous interest in doing business in the region. This subject provides students with an opportunity to examine commercial law in an Asian context. Although parallels can be drawn between Asian jurisdictions in terms of their economic and legal development, their commercial law systems are too diverse to be treated uniformly. Instead, the focus is on analysing key legal aspects of doing business in Asia – including contracts, business entities, international trade, competition law, dispute resolution and the role of lawyers – by reference to systems and case studies in various Asian jurisdictions. Singapore and Australia will be used as reference jurisdictions. The lecturer previously worked as a lawyer and academic in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore and has written extensively on specific Asian business law topics.

Principal topics include:

Introduction to economic, political and cultural context of Asian laws

Commercial contracts

Business entities

Foreign investment

Overview of World Trade Organization and international trade regulation

Constitutionalism after Empire

This subject seeks to provide an overview of the theory and practice of constitutionalism in four countries in South and South East Asia: India, Indonesia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Two of these are among the largest, most pluralistic nations in the world, while the remaining two are small island states. All four nations experienced long periods of colonial rule, which continues to have a decisive impact on their post-colonial legal and constitutional orders. The experience of colonialism contrasts quite starkly from those nations which were settler colonies, and this is an important focus of the course. In each of these nations, discussions about constitutionalism have become enmeshed within larger societal debates about economic development, cultural values, and human rights. The subject instructor has first-hand experience of research and teaching constitutional law in two of the four jurisdictions.

Principal topics include:

Brief overview of the field of comparative constitutionalism, and methodological approaches to the discipline

A broad introduction to the four jurisdictions, covering national histories, and their economic, social and political dimensions

A focus on the colonial experience in the four jurisdictions and the nature of the colonial economy, and its politics

The process of decolonization and the constitutional politics that was engendered as a result

An examination of the post-colonial Constitutions adopted in these countries, with an emphasis on rights provisions

Broad overview of post-colonial trajectories of the four jurisdictions, and their assessments by scholars

The policies of economic development that were followed and the impact on constitutional politics

Islamic Law and Politics in Asia

Islam does not, in theory, recognise a distinction between religion and law because for Muslims both are derived from their god‘s revealed message. The result is the inevitable tension between Islamic beliefs and the modern (secular) nation state that lies at the heart of the politics of Islam in South-East Asia. It has become the subject of major global controversies and conflicts in recent decades, as religious and political leaders compete with, and – in most cases – accommodate, each other. This tension, and the legal, political and social controversies that result from it, are the focus of this subject, which is based on selected comparative case studies of efforts to achieve legal Islamisation from a range of countries in Australia’s region. Teaching is led by a scholar who has conducted extensive fieldwork across South-East Asia and worked closely with Islamic legal institutions in the region. He is supported by guest lecturers specialising on South-East Asia, who will bring their own perspectives to class discussions.

This subject examines the relationship between the modern nation state and Islam in Asia, focusing on the 240 million Muslims in Australia’s South-East Asian neighbourhood.

Principal topics include:

How the original Arabic-derived legal thought has been adapted in new Asian homelands

The essential position of Islamic legal traditions as an alternative authority to the contemporary nation state

Current political and religious controversies arising in South-East Asia. These will be selected from a range that may include:

Banking and Finance Law

NameCredit points

Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds12.5

Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds

Hedge funds and private equity funds involve the allocation and investment of trillions of dollars, ultimately in a wide range of financial instruments and numerous operating companies across a variety of industry sectors. In recent years, managers of these ‘alternative investment funds’ have become subject to heightened scrutiny from regulators and the media. This subject provides an opportunity to learn in detail about the structuring and operation of hedge funds and private equity funds, providing students with an advanced and specialised knowledge in the relevant areas of law, and will examine recent developments in these areas.

International Financial System

In the wake of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, the visibility of finance and financial regulation has increased dramatically. This subject will provide an overview of the global financial system and international efforts to build structures to support its proper functioning. Taking an integrative approach, the subject will look at the evolution of the global financial system, its structure and regulation. In doing so, it will analyse financial crises, especially the GFC, and responses to it, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Principal topics include:

The historical evolution of the international financial markets from Bretton Woods to the present

Costs and benefits of internationalisation and globalisation of finance

International debt and derivatives markets

International prudential regulation and capital adequacy

The rise of emerging markets and their integration into the global financial system

Major international financial crises, their causes and implications

Regulatory responses to financial crises and mechanisms for crisis resolution

The international financial architecture and its evolution

The impact of technology on global finance and its regulation: FinTech and RegTech.

International Lending

This subject involves the study and analysis of the structure, purpose and key provisions of cross border lending documentation, including large market standard syndicated credit agreements (governed by New York or English law). Students will focus on anticipating potential concerns and tensions in the negotiation process and will have the chance to review and study all the agreements and documents such as the credit agreement, other ancillary documents, schedules and deliveries that they will encounter in practice. Students will also study the structure and standard documents used in the cross-border repo market, one of the most important international capital markets.

Christian Johnson is the Dean and Professor of Law at Widener Commonwealth Law School in the United States. Dean Johnson has worked for large international law firms in New York and Chicago. In addition to teaching previously at Melbourne, he has taught lending and finance documentation to lawyers and bankers in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Professor Johnson has his JD from Columbia Law School and is a CPA.

Principal topics include:

Study of the key interbank credit markets

Analysis of the various structures and purposes of different cross-border lending transactions

Discuss the key differences between New York and English law in lending transactions

Review of the key provisions and clauses found in cross-border lending documentation

Study of the key clauses found in New York/English guarantees

Analysis of the key legal, credit and business issues in repo transactions.

International Sustainable Finance

Is sustainable finance the answer to climate change, poverty and inequality? The purpose of this subject is to immerse students in sustainable finance in international practice, from micro-finance to green bonds, renewable energy and refugee financing. Across these markets, key legal concepts, structural features and documentation are covered in detail. By engaging in-depth, through term sheet negotiations, the students jointly develop the skills to assess, prioritise, challenge and negotiate these transactions.

The subject coordinator draws on his own experience in global sustainable finance, and invites experts from international law firms and consultant, to help you become ‘more than a lawyer’.

This innovative subject will combine classroom teaching with online learning. Students will be expected to attend four days in class and participate in online learning prior to the subject being taught.

Principal topics include:

The Sustainable Development Goals, their evolving regulatory framework, their implementation by banks, funds and corporates in international practice

Development Finance, the actors and the law, covering such diverse issues as sanctions law, immunities and aspects of state aid, as well as environmental and social law in financial transactions

Understanding the structural features of international financial transactions with a focus on sustainability

Inclusive finance, through microfinance, gender finance and small and medium enterprise (SME) lending, and relevant regulation

Dispute Resolution

NameCredit points

Commercial Arbitration in Practice12.5

Commercial Arbitration in Practice

This subject provides an outline of the UNCITRAL Model Law legislation and the LEADR & IAMA Rules and a detailed analysis of the procedures involved in the conduct of domestic commercial arbitration proceedings. It will provide lawyers involved in the conduct of such proceedings and practising arbitrators with an opportunity to develop a comprehensive understanding of all elements of the process. The subject includes consideration of the principles of procedural fairness, the law of evidence and their application to commercial arbitration proceedings. The subject will also include written exercises intended to develop skill in the process of decision-making and the writing of decisions and awards in arbitrations.

Principal topics include:

An introduction to the UNCITRAL Model Law legislation

A detailed analysis of procedural rules and their use in the course of proceedings

Negotiation Skills

Irrespective of their speciality, lawyers must negotiate. Litigators resolve far more disputes through negotiation than by trial. Business lawyers in every domain negotiate on behalf of their clients. Public interest lawyers, in-house counsel, government lawyers, criminal lawyers, tort lawyers and commercial litigators all share the need to be effective negotiators. However few lawyers have any systematic understanding of why negotiations often fail or have suboptimal results, the dilemmas inherent in negotiations, or the characteristics of effective negotiators.

By combining theory and practice, this subject should improve students’ understanding of negotiation and effectiveness as negotiators. This subject should improve their ability to prepare for a negotiation, to engage others in joint problem-solving, and to select appropriate strategies when negotiations don’t go well. Above all, this subject will equip students to continue refining their skills as they gain more experience.

Florrie Darwin has taught negotiation skills to students, as well as a broad range of professionals, around the world.

Employment and Labour Relations Law

NameCredit points

International Employment Law12.5

International Employment Law

As labour and capital markets transcend domestic borders, the objectives of labour law can no longer be confined solely to actions within the nation state. The purpose of this subject is two-fold. First, to identify the diverse components of international employment and labour law, the institutions, the claims and the methods for advancing social protection to workers worldwide. This enquiry spans beyond traditional instruments that are associated with labour law, and includes trade law and corporate social responsibility. It further seeks to embed the study of legal instruments in the broader economic and sociological debates on globalisation. The second goal is to critically assess how international developments affect domestic labour law with a particular focus on the European Union, the United States, China and India.

Principal topics include:

The importance of the concept of globalisation in understanding national systems of labour regulation

The composition, powers and functioning of international organisations that regulate labour internationally, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Union (EU)

The relevance of different theories of international regulation

The usefulness of a comparative approach to labour law, including consideration of the major models of labour regulation like the Wagner Model in the United States and Canada

The role of intergovernmental and corporate codes of conduct in securing international labour standards

The emerging challenges posed by the use of migrant, contingent and precarious workers in the global economy

The success of adopting a human rights approach to labour regulation in the face of changes to domestic and international labour law frameworks.

International Equality Law

Equality and discrimination law is continuing to increase in importance, but remains controversial. This subject examines international and comparative aspects of equality and discrimination law. The subject is not confined to, but will include a focus on labour and employment issues. Equality and discrimination issues will be examined at four levels: international law, transnational, state constitutional law, and state human rights law. A review of the content and operation of the major United Nations (UN) and International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions relevant to discrimination generally and to equality at work is directly relevant to Australian domestic law as these treaties provide a constitutional basis as well as content for much Australian anti-discrimination legislation. For comparison, an overview of the European Union (EU) system for regulating discrimination law will be included. The focus then shifts to comparative national law, with an examination of protection of equality and discrimination rights at constitutional and legislative levels in Australia and other countries that take different approaches: some or all of Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This subject provides a critical examination of the scope and operation of equality and discrimination law at international, transnational and national levels and utilises comparative doctrinal and policy analysis. While the major focus will be on work and employment, other areas will be considered where they cast light on the development of the law.

Principal topics include:

An introduction to the different roles played by equality and discrimination at different locations and levels of the legal system

Consideration of debates about the meaning of equality, discrimination and other contested concepts such as choice and responsibility

Analysis of the roles, framework and key features of international treaties and conventions relating to equality and discrimination in both general (human rights) and specific (ILO) contexts

Analysis of some of the key EU equality directives and their adoption in some Member States

An analysis of constitutional protection of equality rights in countries with different modes of protection, chosen from Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States

An examination of anti-discrimination and equality laws across several countries to contrast different approaches and conceptualisations of these rights, and also different social environments and barriers to achieving a more equal society

Consideration of the role(s) of law in relation to equality and discrimination, and the uneven progress in the countries analysed

Exploration of possible future directions for better protection of equality and discrimination rights.

Energy and Resources Law

NameCredit points

Energy Regulation and the Law12.5

Energy Regulation and the Law

Adequate, reliable and sustainable supplies of energy are crucial to modern societies, and their assurance demands the close and continuous involvement of governments. This subject explains the challenges—affordability, security of supply, safety, control of monopoly, sustainability in an age of global warming—that the economic and technical characteristics of different energy sources present to governments in Australia, and analyses the regulatory tools that they have at their disposal for responding to such challenges. It shows how the law can function both as an essential vehicle for such regulation and as a constraint on its content. The lecturer is a leading international authority on oil and gas law and has published extensively in the field of regulation.

Principal topics include:

The nature of regulation, its development in Australia and its relationship with law

General explanations and justifications for regulation

The techniques of regulation

Regulatory issues posed by the supply of different types of energy:

Mineral energies: coal, petroleum and uranium

Network energies: electricity, gas

Renewable energies

The Australian federal environment for energy regulation. Two or more case studies of Australian energy regulation:

Electricity and gas: from state monopolies to regulated national markets

International Mineral Law

The mining industry is international in character and many mining and exploration companies operate in multiple foreign jurisdictions. This subject examines the legal, fiscal and regulatory regimes that govern mineral exploration and production internationally, with a particular emphasis on exploration and mining in developing countries. It deals with the negotiation of mining development agreements with host governments, regulatory schemes and fiscal regimes, community agreements, principles of sustainability and international norms affecting the mining sector. The lecturer has extensive practical experience in mineral ventures in a number of different jurisdictions.

International Petroleum Transactions

This subject considers the legal issues and structure of transactions relating to the exploration, production and marketing of petroleum that, owing to its economic and strategic importance, is the most important commodity traded worldwide. This subject will give students a detailed understanding of how crude oil and gas are exploited and marketed worldwide. It will cover how countries establish sovereignty over petroleum resources and how host governments or their national (state-owned) oil companies contract with private companies to explore and develop oil and gas resources. This subject also reviews and analyses key contracts among petroleum companies, and contracts between petroleum companies and petroleum-services contractors, that facilitate exploration, development and marketing of petroleum. As petroleum is one of the most politically charged commodities, this subject will also consider extra-territorial anti-corruption law and political risk. In a broader sense, this subject will help students develop better analytical skills—especially the ability to critically evaluate contracts.

Environmental Law

NameCredit points

Climate Change Law12.5

Climate Change Law

Climate change is a pressing environmental, economic and social problem. Global warming is predicted to have wide-ranging impacts, and it presents enormous challenges for conventional models of law and socio-economic governance due to its pervasive character, long-term effects and the need for dynamic change in many of the fundamental areas of life. This subject examines the challenges for law in driving that change, from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its associated Paris Agreement, to international trade and litigation, to federal and state legislative responses, through to local effects including on Indigenous peoples. The lecturer is active in research and advice in climate change law and governance in the international and domestic law spheres.

Principal topics include:

The scientific basis for global warming and physical impacts of climate change

The international legal framework, including the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement and associated international instruments

Social and cultural impacts and legal responses, such as human rights protection

The schemes for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).

The role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in climate change governance, particularly with respect to renewable energy technologies and the disciplining of fossil fuel subsidies

The interaction of climate change regimes with other international law frameworks; eg World Heritage, refugee law and security

Disaster Law and Climate Adaptation

The frequency and severity of ‘natural’ disasters, like flood, cyclone and bushfire, and longer term phenomena, such as drought and sea level rise, will increase as a result of climate change; posing major threats to settlements, infrastructure, natural resources and biodiversity. This subject covers the multi-scalar legal response to disasters involving international treaties and soft-law instruments, national and regional regulation, and private law (torts and contract), and encompassing climate change adaptation, emergency management, environmental liability, insurance and human rights. It will examine approaches to prepare for, avoid or minimise disaster impacts, and to respond effectively and equitably post-event. Relevant case studies are drawn from Australia and various comparative jurisdictions regionally and internationally.

An overview of disasters and climate change impacts, focusing on predicted changes to the frequency, intensity and geographical occurrence of natural hazards, and impacts on human settlements

Examination of the types of public and private planning and legal mechanisms at the local, state, national and international scale relevant to disaster management

International agreements and soft law, with case studies of their application to recent disaster events (eg liability regimes for oil and gas disasters and mining incidents; funding mechanisms for disaster risk reduction; instruments for the protection of persons in disasters)

Emergency management and adaptation planning in Australia, with selected case studies covering: coastal hazards: NSW coastal management and land-use planning regimes; bushfire: Victorian land-use planning, emergency management and recovery, and relevant compensation law for the 2009 bushfires and fires in open cut coal mines in the La Trobe valley in 2015; Flood: statutory planning and insurance regimes in Queensland, and the response to the 2011 floods; Drought: emergency water allocation management in urban and rural areas in south-eastern Australia

Comparative case studies in developed and developing countries, evaluating the transferability of legal principles (eg responses to drought and water scarcity in the western United States and southern Africa; coastal adaptation planning instruments in the US and United Kingdom; and typhoon readiness in South East Asia).

Environmental Rights

With policy and law-makers under pressure to subordinate environmental concerns to short-term economic imperatives, environmental advocates are increasingly looking to human rights as a means of reinforcing the importance of environmental protection to human welfare. Domestic, regional and international human rights laws present a range of opportunities and challenges for addressing harms done to the environment. There are also a number of conceptual concerns with framing environmental issues in terms of human rights. Students will work as a class and in small groups to understand the relationship between human rights law and environmental protection at domestic, regional and international levels. The subject will provide insight into strategic aspects of human rights advocacy for the environment, using case studies to explore the roles of state and non-state actors in environmental protection and to consider a range of approaches in the different regions of the world. Resources drawing from academic, policy and advocacy material will be used to interrogate practical and critical perspectives on human rights law and environmental protection.

Principal topics include:

The relationship between human rights and the environment in theory and practice

Human rights that protect the environment, including general rights such as the rights to privacy, health and to information as well as specific rights ‘to’ and ‘of’ the environment

Domestic, regional and international governance of human rights in relation to the environment

Sustainable development and its relevance to issues of human rights and the environment in the different regions of the world

The implications of human rights law for indigenous peoples and environmental protection

The roles and responsibilities of non-state actors in relation to ‘environmental rights’, including environmental advocates and businesses

Channels for redress beyond formal legal mechanisms for people and for ‘nature’.

International Environmental Law

International environmental law is the field of public international law concerned with the protection of the natural environment, and those aspects of the built environment recognised as world cultural heritage. It is a vitally important branch of international law, seeking as it does to safeguard the environment on which humanity depends for its very existence. International environmental law seeks to integrate the activities of diverse actors—states, international organisations, businesses, communities and non-government organisations (NGOs) and uses a wide range of legal tools (including economic instruments and participatory mechanisms) to address pressing environmental concerns. This subject explores the critical governance and regulatory dimensions of international environmental law, as well as introducing you to cases and treaties that have been pivotal to the development of this area of international law. The lecturers in the subject are international environmental law experts, with both academic and practical experience in the field, which will be drawn into the delivery of a stimulating and relevant subject.

Principal topics include:

The need for international environmental law and its historical development

The principal institutions and actors involved in the creation, implementation and enforcement of international environmental law

The principal cases and treaties that have been influential in the development of international environmental law

Current issues of concern in international environmental law, including atmospheric pollution and climate change, the protection of the oceans, species protection and biodiversity, and international trade.

Politics of Transnational Regulation

From corporate self-regulation to multi-stakeholder certification, transnational private regulation is exploding. Multinational firms and powerful governments often succeed in exploiting the resulting overlaps and intersections amongst actors and institutions to bypass unattractive forums, shift decision-making to preferred arenas, shape outcomes in their favour and impose their desired rules on others. Marginalized equity-seeking actors such as workers, indigenous peoples, subsistence producers and industry-affected communities sometimes resist these efforts successfully. Rarely, they even exploit these overlaps and intersections to advance their own interests. Using real-world examples and cutting-edge interdisciplinary theory, the subject examines how powerful actors exploit transnational governance interactions in their favour and how these interactive dynamics can instead be harnessed to improve regulatory capacities, raise standards and empower weaker actors. The teacher heads the interdisciplinary Transnational Business Governance Interactions research network and is a leading scholar and practitioner of transnational private regulation.

Principal questions and topics to be addressed will include:

What is transnational private regulation? Definition, actors, institutions, processes, history, trends, examples and relation to domestic and international law

Government Law

NameCredit points

Corruption: A Global Approach12.5

Corruption: A Global Approach

From one of the earliest concerns of morality and political philosophy to the subject of the latest global treaty sponsored by the United Nations, corruption has had a fascinating role in human affairs. Corruption’s importance as a matter of law and policy has grown in recent decades, thanks to an increasing awareness of its devastating effects on development efforts, human rights, democracies, economies, and environmental protection efforts. Responding to that growing importance, this subject provides an overview of domestic, regional, and global approaches to corruption.

The domestic approaches examined in this subject include those undertaken by a sample of Latin American and Asian countries, as well as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The regional approaches targeted include those sponsored by the Organization of American States, the Asian Development Bank, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Bank. Finally, at the global level, this seminar covers the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

Entering into force in 2005 and obtaining 183 States Parties by 2017, the UNCAC has taken strides in implementing a comprehensive and partially binding global approach to corruption. This subject explores the five pillars of that approach—international cooperation, preventative measures, criminalization and law enforcement measures, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange—and their linkages to domestic and regional initiatives. A major question at this stage will be the UNCAC’s ability (or potential) to supplement or improve upon those pre-existing initiatives.

At each of its three levels of legal inquiry (domestic, regional, and global), this seminar examines questions of substantive law (what conduct is targeted), procedure (how are suspected violations of the law exposed and addressed), institutions (how is each legal framework administered and modified), and effectiveness (under a number of metrics). Notably, this subject addresses the advantages and criticisms of anti-corruption law in its many forms.

Although this subject relies primarily on legal analysis, it also encompasses economics, history, and political science. That interdisciplinarity enables the consideration of the broader questions that inform anti-corruption law. Those questions include: How are definitions and patterns of corruption changing over time? What effects does corruption have on development, businesses, local economies, and global capitalism? What effects does it have on human rights, democratization, elections, and lawmaking? What lessons have been learned about the effectiveness of different legal approaches to corruption? How could domestic, regional, and international anti-corruption initiatives be improved?

Principal topics include:

What is corruption? How is corruption defined by different legal regimes?

How does corruption manifest in distinct environments, including campaign and party finance, elections, lawmaking, law enforcement, government procurement, business, international development efforts, and banking and finance? What are corruption’s economic, political, and social effects?

What are the regulatory challenges involved in preventing, exposing, and punishing corruption in its distinct environments? To what extent have domestic, regional, and international legal regimes been successful in meeting those challenges?

How could those laws and institutions be improved? In particular, what are the main successes and shortcomings of the UN system for preventing and combatting corruption? What are its prospects for improvement?

What are the different roles that lawyers play in addressing corruption? What skill sets do they employ?

Money, Law and Politics

Money in politics raises profound challenges for democracies across the world: billion-dollar American presidential elections have led United States being branded the 'best democracy money can buy'; in Indonesia, the tactics of ‘money politics’ are regularly decried; and in Australia, unregulated political spending in federal elections raise concerns about the fairness of such contests.

What should be the role of the law in regulating money in politics? What should be the principles to determine the content and the limits of such law? What should be the respective roles of the legislature, executive and the judiciary in shaping such laws? And what should be the institutional framework for ensuring compliance with legal obligations?

This subject will adopt a cross-national approach to examining these challenging questions. It will examine the experiences of a range of countries including those from the Commonwealth (eg Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom), Europe (eg France and Germany), South-East Asia (eg Indonesia) and the United States. Taught by two leading experts in this field, the subject will draw out the tensions and dilemmas in regulating money in politics.

Principal questions examined include:

What are the regulatory challenges of money in politics?

What standards and principles should apply to the regulation of such money? Do these standards and principles vary according to particular national contexts? Is it meaningful to speak of international standards or international ‘best practice’?

How should political donations and campaign expenditure be regulated?

How should public funding of campaigns and political parties be provided?

What should be in the institutional framework governing the regulation of money in politics? Which branch of government should have the power to enact such laws? What institutions (eg electoral commissions; anti-corruption commissions) should be responsible for effectively enforcing such regulation?

Multiculturalism and the State

Religious minorities in Western democracies are seeking legal accommodations, especially the freedom of maintaining an autonomous judiciary to handle internal family law matters. Drawing on the rich experience of countries where such accommodations were granted, the subject will inquire into the legitimacy and problems associated with such accommodations. In doing so, the subject will draw on modern theories of multiculturalism.

This highly topical subject deals with some of the most significant, challenging and contested issues in the legal systems of the world in the 21st century. It is likely to be of considerable interest to students from a wide range of jurisdictions and backgrounds.

Principal topics include:

Liberal multiculturalism, theory and practice

Group accommodations in a democracy

A survey of religious groups and illiberal practices

Traditional schemes of religious accommodations, with special reference to the Ottoman millet system

The reality of religious accommodations in Western democracies

The reality of religious accommodations in the Middle East, with special reference to Israel.

States: When, Why and How they Happen

States are important, as state-building exercises round the world indicate, yet there are regular suggestions that their significance is waning under pressure from globalisation externally and fragmentation internally. This subject examines this paradox from an internal perspective, addressing four main questions.

What do we mean by “state”?

Why do “states” arise (when they arise)?

How do they manage to establish themselves?

What problems do states face, and how do they try to overcome them?

To answer the questions, we have to consider political philosophy, history (including the meaning and purpose of history in state-making), the growth and operation of institutions, empires and decolonisation, the use of coercion in the functioning of states, the roles of constitutions, and the relationship between states on the international plane. We shall look at ideas of race and nation and their relationships to “state”, and undertake a number of case-studies, touching on Middle Kingdom Egypt through classical Greece and Rome, England since the fourth century CE, Ireland, the USA, Australia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Students will be encouraged to bring their own experiences and insights to the classes to illuminate the discussion.

Principal topics include:

Ways of understanding the term “state”: language, sociology, history, and the relevance of “nation” and “people”

Health and Medical Law

NameCredit points

Comparative Health Law12.5

Comparative Health Law

This subject provides an opportunity to learn about how different societies grapple with common challenges in health care systems and to consider whether and how these comparisons can be helpful in guiding change within a particular system. While human biology is similar worldwide, the economic, social, and ethical aspects of health care are reflected through the prism of each society’s culture, history and political framework. The legal responses to these economic, social and ethical debates therefore can vary from one society to another. This subject will explore comparative approaches to topics ranging from the structure and financing of the health care system to legal aspects of reproduction and death. The subject, while referencing Australian approaches, will use Canada and the United States as the base for comparison and will explore the approaches adopted in other countries as well.

Professor Bobinski recently completed serving as the Dean of the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She has taught Comparative Health Law in Canada and the United States. She recently served as the President of the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics and as a member of the Canadian Public Health Officer's Ethics Advisory Committee, and previously directed a top-ranked health law program in the United States.

Principal topics will include comparative approaches to health law and policy rules in areas such as:

The right to health and health care financing

Regulation and/or licensing of health care professionals

Quality of care

Contraception, abortion and sterilisation

Fetal conflicts

Assisted reproduction, including the implications of advances in genetics

Consent to or refusal of care, including cases involving death and dying

Public health law including traditional aspects (eg contagious diseases) and new areas such as public health approaches to obesity.

Law and Emerging Health Technologies

This subject will examine ways in which law is affecting, and being affected by, the latest advances in medical technology. It will cover a variety of fascinating technologies including genetic, big data analytics, regenerative, therapeutic, artificial intelligence and reproductive technologies. It challenges students to think not only about the future of medicine, but the future of human life itself. Are legal systems dealing with these issues in adequate, legitimate, and strategic ways?

Significantly, the course is not simply for medical lawyers. The syllabus weaves specific technological case-studies with important cross-cutting themes drawn from regulation theory, law reform, and applied philosophy. Those themes are organised so as to provide a framework for critical thinking about regulatory reform and the role of law, lawyers and the medical profession in this process. The themes also impart knowledge and skills relevant to a wide range of industries where law must deal with substantial scientific uncertainty and ethical controversy. Students with interests in privacy, human rights, tort law, IT governance, artificial intelligence, science and technology, family law, and risk regulation are all catered for.

The subject will not be limited to any particular jurisdiction, but focusses on Australian and European law and draws widely on world events. It will be taught by Dr Kathleen Liddell, Director of the Centre for Law, Medicine and Life Sciences (Cambridge) who has more than 20 years’ experience in academia, legal practice, law reform, policy advice and ethical analysis.

Human Rights Law

NameCredit points

Business and Human Rights12.5

Business and Human Rights

The private sector represents one of the most important and daunting challenges facing the human rights community. As the reach and influence of companies has grown – sometimes dwarfing the states in which they operate – their impact on human rights has become impossible to ignore. Human rights have become the currency of major brands, helping determine Citibank financing, Exxon-Mobil relations with communities and working conditions along Wal-Mart’s enormous supply chain. Shareholder activists, NGOs, social movements, the media and governments are demanding greater transparency and reporting on human rights. The United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the multilateral banks have adopted human rights standards for companies, and a growing body of soft and hard law (domestic and international) is beginning to define the precise scope of corporate human rights obligations. This subject will explore the fast-growing field of business and human rights, highlighting the most critical legal and practical issues surrounding efforts to advance corporate responsibility and accountability.

Principal topics include:

The history of the business and human rights movement

The political and ideological challenge to applying human rights to business

The legal framework and institutions for corporate human rights accountability

Human Rights and Climate Change

This subject will introduce and explore the main concepts, laws, institutions and policies at the intersection of international climate change law and international human rights law.

Specifically, this subject will explore three aspects of the intersection between climate change and human rights. First it will explore the nature and extent to which the impacts of climate change and response measures to address climate change can affect the realization of core human rights. It will examine the substantive and procedural rights afforded through national, regional and international instruments to those affected by environmental harms, and the ways in which such rights can be extended to cover climate harms. It will in this context analyze cases in national, regional and international courts and tribunals that engage human rights in the context of climate harms.

Second, this subject will examine the treatment of human rights in the international climate change regime, and the prospects for further integration of human rights concerns in the regime. Third, this subject will consider the phenomenon of climate-related migration and displacement, the existing international legal protection for those affected, the gaps in such protection and ways to address these gaps.

More broadly, through a study of these three aspects, this subject will examine the potential, prospects and limits of international law in protecting the rights of those affected by climate harm.

Principal topics include:

Conceptual architecture of international environmental law, climate change law and human rights

Articulation of environmental protection in the language of human rights, both substantive and procedural, in international, regional and national human rights systems, instruments and case law

autonomous ‘right to a healthy environment’ and its extension to a stable climate

‘greening’ of established rights such as the right to life and privacy and their extension to protection against climate harms

value and reach of procedural human rights in relation to protection from climate harms

Treatment of human rights in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and the 2015 Paris Agreement

Human Rights Beyond Borders

This subject considers whether and to what extent international human rights law applies to the actions of states outside their sovereign territories. The focus is on international law only, not domestic law.

The extra-territorial application of international human rights law is one of the most contested and fast-moving areas of human rights law today. It is concerned with important and high-profile activities performed by states outside their borders, from war to occupation and anti-piracy and migration-related activities. This relatively under-explored area of law is of considerable current interest to governments (including their armed forces), international organisations and human rights non-government organisations (NGOs).

Principal topics include:

The nature and scope of extra-territorial State activity, from war to occupation, the interception and detention of migrants and ‘pirates’, and the operation of embassies, military bases and detention facilities

The main contours of international human rights law

Relevant principles of general international law, including treaty interpretation, and relevant features of human rights law, including applicability in times of war and occupation, and co-application with other areas of law

Arguments of principle in favour of and against applicability, including concerns about ‘legal black holes’, indirect nationality discrimination, abuses of detainees, double standards and ‘human rights imperialism’

The main treaty provisions on applicability, including ‘jurisdiction’ and colonial extension clauses

Key general features of extra-territorial applicability, including the substantive meaning of human rights law extra-territorially, and the relevance to this of self-determination; the possibility of activating ‘derogation’ clauses; and whether human rights treaties can and should apply to the actions of contracting states in the territories of other states not also parties to the same treaties

The meaning of the two ‘jurisdiction’ triggers for extra-territorial applicability, based on the exercise of control over territory or individuals

The extra-territorial application of other human rights treaties that use different triggers, notably the anti-discrimination treaties and the 1951 Refugee Convention

The application and significance of the non-refoulement obligation extra-territorially.

International Human Rights Law

The field of international human rights law is today composed of a multitude of legal instruments, implementation bodies, special procedures, human rights NGOs and transitional justice mechanisms. This subject provides the opportunity to examine this field in many of its dimensions, equipping students to navigate the system and critically assess its fundamental features. It will be of interest to all students who want to develop a detailed understanding of how the international human rights law system operates, including those with limited or no background in the area. The two lecturers have significant experience across a diverse range of topics and issues within international human rights law, which they draw upon to create an engaging and thought-provoking subject.

Principal topics include:

Human rights and the challenges posed by state sovereignty and national security

The contested universality of human rights

The international institutional framework for the protection of human rights, with a special focus on the Human Rights Council and treaty monitoring system

The interpretation and application of selected rights from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

Domestic measures for the implementation of human rights, such as judicial implementation of economic, social and cultural rights

The norm of non-discrimination as it relates to race, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity

The contribution of truth and reconciliation commissions to the protection of human rights

International Law and Children's Rights

Issues concerning children, whether they arise at the international, regional or local level, are increasingly being examined from a human rights perspective. Much of the momentum for this movement has been generated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, and has been ratified by every state in the world except the United States and South Sudan. This subject is designed to provide students with an understanding of the CRC and the idea of a human rights-based approach to matters involving children. It will be of interest to anyone who works in areas that impact on children, either directly or indirectly, at the international, regional or local level. The lecturer has extensive networks with civil society, international bodies and government agencies that he draws on to provide an appropriate blend of academic and practical content.

The subject consists of two parts. Part one involves a general discussion of:

The notion of children’s rights

The international framework for the protection of children’s rights, with particular emphasis on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The factors that impact on the implementation of the Convention, both in Australia and overseas.

Part two involves an examination of specific issues relevant to children and how the Convention and a rights-based analysis can be used to respond to these issues. The issues will be drawn from areas such as:

International Refugee Law

This subject explores and examines the international legal regime for the protection of refugees. The essential premise of the subject is that refugee law should be understood as a mode of human rights protection, the viability of which requires striking a balance between the needs of the victims of human rights abuse and the legitimate aspirations of the countries to which they flee. The primary objective of the subject is to enable students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the international legal regime for international protection – the basis for being granted protection in 147 countries, including Australia. The subject will situate Australian refugee law and policy within the context of Australia’s international obligations.

Reimagining Human Rights Law

This subject considers ways of reimagining the international human rights regime, which is under attack from many quarters. It is said to be ineffectual, hegemonic and ill-equipped for a world that is very different from that of the era in which it was devised, and reliant for its implementation upon outmoded forms of regulation. Another set of critiques focuses on groups at the margins of the international human rights system, including women, indigenous peoples and minority sexual groups, whose human rights are often breached.

This subject reviews these critiques and examines their explanatory force. It considers ways in which the international human rights system can be reconceived to be more effective, drawing on anthropological and socio-legal scholarship. It will focus, first, on the turn to quantification in the human rights field, especially the use of indicators, and whether this is likely to increase protection of human rights. Second, the course will discuss attempts to respond to ‘outsider’ critiques of the human rights system, including the drafting of specialised treaties and instruments. Third, the course will consider the relationship between the formal mechanisms of the human rights system and the mobilisation of human rights ideas and values by social movements and non-governmental organisation. It will examine the social and cultural processes by which international norms and laws become translated into local situations. A unique feature of this course is that it combines the perspectives of international law and legal anthropology in its approach to human rights.

Principal topics include:

A review of the key mechanisms used to promote the treaty obligations that states have accepted and how these operate

An examination of some of the major criticisms that have recently been directed at international human rights mechanisms by governments and other key actors

An overview of the question of evaluating impact in this field, including consideration of the work of scholars who have sought to measure the effect of ratification of human rights instruments

The development of an ‘indicator culture’ in the human rights field

An understanding of the role that quantification plays in defining human rights and fostering compliance through increasing accountability

A review of recent sustained critiques of the human rights regime by scholars such as Stephen Hopgood, Samuel Moyn, Eric Posner, Harri Englund and others

A discussion of Third World, feminist and queer critiques of the international human rights system

Analysis of specialised treaties and instruments responding to these critiques, including CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), the Istanbul Convention on Domestic Violence and the Yogjakarta Principles

An introduction to anthropological approaches to the international human rights system

Examination of human rights in practice, focusing on the way these ideas are mobilised to deal with local issues such as gender violence and indigenous rights.

Intellectual Property Law

NameCredit points

Internat.Issues in Intellectual Property12.5

Internat.Issues in Intellectual Property

Over the past two decades, the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) globally has become a major issue both for right holders and users, and one that has had profound implications in a number of important areas of public discourse, such as international trade, public health, education and research, national development and the promotion of biodiversity. This subject seeks to engage with all these issues, and begins with a discussion of the sources of international intellectual property (IP) law, including the principal IP treaties and the general architecture of the international IP system. It then considers a number of case studies where particular IP issues arise and where international solutions are presently being negotiated. It will also examine the growing tension between the territoriality of IPRs and the global scope of IP exploitation, considering how this clash plays out in the key area of private international law. Both lecturers have had extensive experience in international intellectual property matters, and bring to the subject both academic and practical perspectives that add greatly to its interest and relevance.

This subject consists of a survey of the economic, legal and political elements and forces that shape the international IP system.

Principal topics include:

Introduction to the international IP system, including the main producers and owners of IP, the institutional architecture and the treaty system, including those administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization (notably the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), and the emergence of bilateral and regional trade and investment protection treaties that have an impact on the protection of IP rights

International Economic Law

NameCredit points

International Business Transactions12.5

International Business Transactions

This subject is a basic 'how-to' on international business transactions and is essential for those wishing to practise international trade law. The subject intentionally covers a vast array of related topics, with the focus being on the legal issues faced by practising lawyers in the field. Particular emphasis is placed on issues such as trade terms, international sales of goods, documentary credits, carriage of goods, customs and border regulations. This subject also considers several issues relating to international trade, such as intellectual property rights, licensing, franchising and governmental measures regulating investment. Such coverage ensures students are exposed to the most important and frequent issues facing the practising trade lawyer.

Principal topics may include:

Basic trade contracts and common trade terms

Choice of law and choice of jurisdiction in international trade contracts

International Commercial Arbitration

International commercial arbitration is the most important method globally for resolving cross-border commercial disputes. The focus of this subject is on the basic principles of international commercial arbitration law and is taught from the perspective of both the practitioner advising clients and the scholar interested in advanced research. There will be a particular focus on the desirability of arbitration compared with other dispute resolution methods, the relationships between the courts and arbitrators, drafting techniques and developments in Australia and other countries.

Principal topics include:

The nature of international arbitration

Applicable law in international arbitration

The Australian procedural regime and an introduction to the UNCITRAL Model Law

International Economic Law

Newspaper headlines frequently concern global economic issues, from trade disputes between countries and investment claims by foreign investors against sovereign states, to countries facing balance-of-payments crises and seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This subject examines the law governing global economic issues. It is designed both as a comprehensive introduction in its own right to this important field, as well as a foundation for further exploration through specialist subjects in the curriculum. It begins with a historical and theoretical background to the field before turning to focus on international trade law, particularly the rules and dispute settlement procedures of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It then discusses contemporary developments in international trade law and policy, including the negotiations for regional or bilateral preferential trade agreements. The subject then considers international investment law, examining key substantive obligations relating to investor protection and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms (particularly through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)). Finally, the subject provides an introduction to the lending policies and practices of international financial institutions, particularly the IMF and the World Bank.

Principal topics include:

Nature, evolution and context of international economic law

The law of the WTO

Dispute settlement in the WTO

International investment law

Investor-state arbitration under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention

International financial institutions (particularly the IMF and the World Bank).

Internat Investment Law and Arbitration

International investment law regulates the entry and operation of foreign investment and is one of the fastest-growing fields of public international law. This subject begins by tracing the historical, political and economic causes for the protection of foreign investment across custom, bilateral and regional investment treaties. It then focuses on the unique system of dispute resolution in this field, which gives private (foreign) actors the right to pursue claims for damages against states. This subject explores a series of case studies to evaluate the impact of investment law across a range of core values, including public health, environmental regulation and the protection of human rights.

Principal topics include:

Nature, evolution and context of international investment law

Overview of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Energy Charter Treaty and parts of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Scope of protection: definition of ‘investor’ and ‘investment‘

Relative obligations of non-discrimination: most-favored-nation (MFN) and national treatment

Obligation to accord foreign investors ‘fair and equitable treatment‘

Expropriation and the quantification of compensation

Contract claims versus treaty claims: the ‘umbrella’ clause

Arbitration under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Convention.

International Trade Law

International trade is of great importance to almost every country in the world. Many legal relationships are necessary for goods to be traded from one country to another, and they are all predictably flavoured by the issues that arise when different legal systems interact. This subject considers the private commercial legal issues that arise when goods are traded from one country to another, framework contracts such as agency and exclusive distribution, as well as public international law issues that arise when governments try to influence the subject of international trade. The goal of the subject is to give some sense of how the private commercial aspects of trade create issues for government-to-government relationships about trade, and vice versa.

Principal topics include:

The contracts by which trade in goods takes place: sale, transport, payments and insurance

WTO Law and Dispute Settlement

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is at the centre of ongoing debates concerning both fragmentation of public international law and persistent inequities between developed and developing countries. It also provides one of the most active systems in the world for resolving international disputes, with jurisdiction over some of the largest and most significant matters arising today. This subject offers a sophisticated understanding of the WTO and its dispute settlement system, including a detailed analysis of the fundamental principles and jurisprudence of WTO law. The instructors are both leading scholars in WTO law and former Legal Officers with the Appellate Body Secretariat of the WTO.

Principal topics include:

History and objectives of the WTO

WTO dispute settlement

Core disciplines under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994):

International Law

NameCredit points

Comparative Indigenous Rights12.5

Comparative Indigenous Rights

This highly topical subject analyses the rights of Indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, the United States and New Zealand. Topics discussed include Aboriginal title and the doctrine of discovery, treaties, land and resource rights, self-determination, and Indigenous families and justice. The subject will be taught from a critical perspective, comparing and assessing the treatment of Indigenous rights in the four jurisdictions. In exploring these issues, the subject will also examine aspects of legal pluralism, and assess a variety of normative and political justifications for Indigenous rights.

Principal topics include:

History of the concept of Aboriginal title and the doctrine of discovery

Concepts of sui generis agreement-making between Indigenous peoples and governments

Implications of distinctions between government obligations and Indigenous rights

International Criminal Law

Historical experience demonstrates that, without justice, it is exceedingly difficult to establish an inclusive and lasting peace. And yet, while States pay significant lip service to accountability, all too often it is the victim of real politik. This subject will explore why, how and when individuals can be held individually criminally responsible for serious international crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), other international mechanisms, and national jurisdictions.

In addition to considering the substantive rules of international criminal law, students will explore a range of legal policy issues relating to the prosecution of serious international crimes, including through case studies on Kenya, Palestine, Burundi, the Rohingya, ISIS and the crime of aggression.

Drawing on the lecturer’s experience representing Australia in the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties, and the insights of other senior practitioners, the subject is focused throughout on contemporary issues of international criminal law that are of real relevance to practitioners and scholars alike.

Principal topics include:

The nature of law, war and crime, and the relationship between peace and justice

The development of international criminal law, including the contribution of the ad hoc international and mixed criminal tribunals

The Rome Statute crimes (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression) and their relationship to customary international law

The modes of individual criminal responsibility and the defences recognised by international criminal law

The ICC’s structure and personal and temporal jurisdiction

The proceedings and practice of the ICC

The stakeholders of international criminal law (including victims, witnesses, defendants, States, civil society, the United Nations and the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties)

The role of the new ad hoc criminal mechanisms (the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria and the Investigative Team for ISIL in Iraq), as well as efforts to ensure accountability for the downing of flight MH17

The prosecution of international crimes in national jurisdictions, including on the basis of universal jurisdiction

International Humanitarian Law

The implementation of the legal rules governing the conduct of military hostilities is literally a matter of life and death. This subject combines current international practice in the relevant law with acknowledged research and practical expertise. This subject briefly introduces the historical development of international humanitarian law and raises a series of questions around the effective implementation of the law.

What is an armed conflict and how do we determine the legal character of a conflict?

How do combatants distinguish between civilians and enemy combatants and how can protection for civilians in armed conflict—particularly women and children—be improved?

Who can lawfully be targeted and killed and who can be detained?

Which weapons are prohibited and which are permitted?

Principal topics include:

The historical development of international humanitarian law and its rationale in a broader context

The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977 and developments in customary international law

The unique role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in armed conflict

The relationship of international humanitarian law to other related areas of international law, such as arms control and disarmament, human rights, peacekeeping and international criminal law

Implementation of the law through case studies

Current issues for development of the law, such as emerging technologies, child soldiers, the protection of women in armed conflict and the law of occupation and terrorism.

International Law

This subject is an introduction to the foundational principles and rules of the public international legal order. It is designed as an introduction to international law and, therefore, provides students with an understanding of the key concepts of international law, its history and contemporary relevance, sources of international law and the role of some key international institutions, such as the United Nations (UN). The subject is grounded in both theory and practice in order to consider how international law works in shaping and dealing with a range of issues such as dispute settlement, self-determination, decolonisation, diplomacy, international criminal law and human rights law. Contemporary examples will be used to enrich student learning. Students will be encouraged to critically evaluate the position and relevance of international law in international politics and society by addressing past and current developments through case studies. The members of the teaching team are scholars in international law who have developed specific areas of specialisation in international law.

Principal topics include:

The nature, purpose and language of international law

Sources of international law

International legal personality

Jurisdiction of states and jurisdictional immunities

The responsibility of states and individuals for violations of international law

The role of the UN and regional organisations

Peaceful settlement of disputes and the functions of the International Court of Justice

International Law and Relations

This subject will place international law in the context of the practice of international relations and, in particular, international diplomacy. The subject will introduce students to leading accounts of international law’s role in global political life while showing, too, how the international legal order intersects with and constitutes the practice of international diplomacy. It will be taught by Gerry Simpson, Chair of International Law at the London School of Economics, and Richard Rowe, a former senior official in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and a person with a life-time of extraordinary experience in the operation of international legal diplomacy.

International Law and the Use of Force

The question of the use of force is one of the most controversial both in international law and international relations. Different states, civil society and international lawyers have held over time (wildly) diverse opinions about the legality and the legitimacy of events such as the bombing of Syria by the US/UK/France in early 2018, Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the exercise of the international community’s ‘responsibility to protect’ in Libya in 2011 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as debates over the possibility of a ‘pre-emptive strike’ against North Korea or Iran. This subject provides a doctrinal, theoretical, and historical account of the relationship between international law and war that is centered on a wide range of case studies. On the one hand, we will focus on major contemporary debates about the regime established since 1945 and the promulgation of the UN Charter. Namely, we will examine the specific arguments states and international organisations (such as the UN, NATO or the African Union) have used in order to justify their resort to violence and the way other states, international organisations, courts or other groups (especially those at the receiving end of this violence) have responded to these arguments. For example, this module is structured around questions such as the legality of ‘humanitarian intervention’, the possibility of lawfully launching ‘preemptive strikes’ against a perceived threat, the question of whether a state can invoke its right to self-defence against non-state actors, the use of nuclear weapons, targeted killing and the authority of the UN Security Council to authorise violence. On the other hand, this subject invites students to think contextually, historically and critically about these legal debates. We will discuss both earlier legal regimes pertaining to war (for example, that of the League of Nations) as well as arguments about the radical transformation of the relevant law since 9/11. We will also ask broader questions about the ways in which legitimate violence is allocated between different actors by international law and how this allocation shapes international and domestic politics.

Principal topics will include:

The contemporary legal regime pertaining to the use of force;

The co-existence of the relevant provisions in the UN Charter with principoesl of customary international law, domestic law, other systems of legality;

Historical approaches to the legal regulation of the use of force;

The meaning of the term ‘force’ in international law, and its relationship with ‘intervention’, ‘armed attack’ or economic, political and other forms of coercion;

The UN Charter framework for collective security and the changing role of the UN Security Council;

The scope of the right of self-defence, including anticipatory and collective self-defence;

A range of case studies covering a wide range of historical, contemporary and regional contexts.

Law, Science and Technology

Science and technology are at the heart of many of the most pressing legal and social problems of our day: disease prevention, bioethics, big data, state and corporate surveillance, the regulation of military technologies, and so on. This subject invites students to consider the common challenges of law, policy and public discourse posed by problems of this sort, at both the domestic and international level. In doing so, it asks: how do scientific discoveries and their technological applications shape our legal and social worlds? And how do law and society affect scientific and technological developments in turn?

The overall aim is to equip students coming from diverse backgrounds, training and experience with the analytical and critical tools necessary to understand and respond to complex questions of science and technology in all their legal, social, (geo)political, ethical, and cultural dimensions.

The lecturer undertakes research and advocacy in this area and was recently a visiting fellow at the Harvard Program on Science, Technology and Society.

Principal topics include:

Science and technology studies as a field

The relationship between ‘law’, ‘science’, ‘technology’ and ‘society’ as concepts and fields of practice

Biotechnology and bioethics

Drug patents and disease prevention

Big data and global surveillance

Military technologies

Public discourse around science and technology

The future: advocacy, law reform and other critical encounters between law, science, technology and society.

Post-Conflict State-Building

This subject deals with the body of law and practice that applies to states as they emerge from conflict and try to build strong, prosperous and responsive communities. It lies at the intersection of several bodies of law including international law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law and domestic constitutional law. Many of the issues with which it deals are at the cutting-edge of these fields: the extra-territorial effect of constitutional law; the possibility of a ‘lex pacificatoria’ to govern the ambiguous character of intra-state peace agreements; the legitimacy of constitutions developed with international assistance; the notion of transformative military occupation. The two teachers in this highly innovative subject bring different bodies of expertise to bear on it. Professor Bruce Oswald is an international and international humanitarian law specialist; Laureate Professor Cheryl Saunders works in the area of comparative constitutional law. Both have practical experience of aspects of post-conflict state-building, which informs their approach to teaching and research in the field.

Principal topics include:

The concepts inherent in post-conflict state-building

International humanitarian law and the law of occupation

Current trends in peace-building

The relevance of constitution building to post-conflict state-building

Law and Development

NameCredit points

Development, Labour and Human Rights12.5

Development, Labour and Human Rights

The proper role to be played by labour standards and human rights in the construction of the international economic order, and in the development process, is an intricate issue and a matter of controversy. This subject examines the relationship between (economic) development and labour law – exploring the place of rights within both investment and trade-led development models, and the contrasting social justice-based developmental approaches.

In investigating the role of labour law in development, this subject interrogates the rationales, content, institutions and regulatory frameworks relating to labour standards and human rights at regional and international levels. This entails not only a technical analysis of transnational instruments and supervisory structures but also detailed consideration of underlying political and economic concerns. Such regulatory frameworks for labour that have prevailed in the global ‘North’ have been the basis of transplantation and experimentation in the 'South', and might obscure the actual characteristics of labour relations in the ‘South’. The subject examines the redefinition of labour law, paying close attention to North-South relations in the regulation of labour; to the relationship between labour rights and human rights; and to the limits of rights discourse.

Attention will be given to various case studies. Illustrative topics include:

Introduction: Re-imagining labour law for development

Labour and the turn to human rights discourse

The changing nature of work: informalisation, ‘precariatisation’, and the rise in low quality work

Defining labour in the global North and the global South: Unpaid labour, family employment and care work

Setting, supervising and enforcing international labour standards

‘Core’ labour rights and the International Labour Organisation

Development, free trade and labour rights: socio-economic rights as a condition of international trade

Competing regimes and norms on migrant labour

The regional and sub-regional dimension: the European Union, the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Labour dimensions of codes of conduct, social labelling and investor initiatives: effectiveness and legitimacy

‘Post-industrial’ labour law in the global North and South: Alternative models of social protection and social justice, Universal Basic Income and employment guarantees

International Law and Development

The concept of development has been crucial to structuring international legal relations from the end of World War II to the present day. During that time, international law and institutions have taken on ‘development’ as a primary project. In both the public and economic domains, the vast majority of international institutions engage with the development project in some shape or form. This subject invites students to think about the nature and importance of development and its relation to international law. The history of development in relation to imperialism, decolonisation, the Cold War and globalisation means that this set of relations is complex and dynamic. Understanding it is crucial to understanding the place of international law, and the work development does in the contemporary world.

Principal topics include:

Law and development as a field

The ‘development’ concept and its precursors

The relationship between the concepts of ‘law’ and ‘development’

The institutionalisation of development

Development, imperialism, decolonisation and the nation state

Permanent sovereignty over natural resources and the new international economic order

NGOs and International Development

This subject considers the topic of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international development. In addition to critically examining the development context, this subject will highlight the importance of NGOs in development and engage with the criticisms that NGOs working in and towards development attract. In that respect, the course demonstrates how interest in NGOs has both reflected and informed wider theoretical trends and debates within development studies, public international law and not-for-profit law. It will also consider NGOs in relation to ideas and debates about civil society, globalisation and ideas and practices of international aid. The subject will consider a wide diversity of NGOs and locate their modern roles within broader histories of imperialism, proselytization, charity, self-determination and struggle as well as within the ideological context of neoliberalism. The legal and policy relationships of NGOs with governments and how this impacts on national and popular sovereignty, service delivery and civil and political freedoms will be examined through contemporary practice and case studies.

Principal topics include:

Introduction to NGOS: What are non-governmental organizations? What legal forms do they take? How are they regulated?

Private Law

NameCredit points

Global Commercial Contract Law12.5

Global Commercial Contract Law

This subject provides an introduction to the global law relating to international commercial contracts. A major focus will be on contracts of sales, as codified by the Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG). However, some issues of the general law of contract will also be covered in detail (eg formation, interpretation, third party rights, the duty of good faith and fair dealing). The treatment of some of these topics will be based on an examination of the 2016 UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC). The approach is comparative. Examples will be drawn from the decisions of national courts as well as arbitral awards.

Tax

NameCredit points

Comparative Corporate Tax12.5

Comparative Corporate Tax

Globalisation is driving corporate tax systems closer together and often into conflict. For many tax practitioners, it is now not enough to know their own corporate tax system—they must grapple with and question the operation of other corporate tax systems. This subject seeks to develop an ability to understand and analyse any corporate tax system and assess its impact on corporate decision-making. With a dedicated textbook (written by the presenter), this subject compares a number of influential and archetypal corporate tax systems (both common law and civil law) and assesses their behaviour in the context of practical problems. For tax professionals, this subject develops an ability to ask direct and informed questions about a foreign corporate tax system and discuss that system at a high level with foreign tax professionals.

This subject will compare and analyse income tax law in selected countries (Australia, Germany, the US and the UK) and consider how these laws interface with corporate law. Other jurisdictions may also be covered briefly during the course and students are permitted to cover other countries in their research paper.

Comparative International Tax

This subject will provide a detailed comparative analysis of the principal topics in international taxation. The core principles of international income tax will be examined, with the different approaches taken by nations (developed, emerging, and developing countries) outlined and critiqued. The compatibility of international tax systems in dealing with international transactions will be examined, and key areas of mismatch and overlap identified. The ongoing reform of international tax rules under the O.E.C.D. Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project will be considered. This subject will equip students to analyse international tax issues using a comparative approach and to acquire a deep understanding of the underlying structural, institutional, and policy influences that have shaped international income tax systems. This knowledge is directly applicable to analysing international tax problems in any particular country.

Principal topics include:

Jurisdiction to tax (residence and source)

Taxation of foreign income of residents, including elimination of double taxation

Other

NameCredit points

Fundamentals of the Common Law12.5

Fundamentals of the Common Law

Fundamentals of the Common Law is a foundational subject in the Melbourne Law Masters (MLM), which is compulsory for graduates in disciplines other than law and for law graduates from countries with a non-common law system. It provides students with an opportunity to acquire the foundational legal skills necessary for studying and working in a common law system, such as that in Australia.

The common law forms one of the two principal systems of Western law that, through colonisation, have spread throughout the world. Common law systems have a distinctive approach to understanding the sources of law, the role of law-making institutions, and processes for resolving disputes. These characteristics of the common law system have had a profound effect on the development not only of the societies in the countries in which it applied, but also on international law and practice.

The aim of this subject is to acquire basic foundational legal skills that will assist you with other subjects in the MLM program. The subject teaches students how to read, use and interpret reported cases and legislation. The subject explains the sources of law, what influences them, and how they influence the development of the common law. These aims are given in context of some contemporary debates on common law reasoning by assessing the role of the High Court of Australia. The subject focuses on developing skills in analysis and legal writing, the tools of the common lawyer

International Legal Internship

International Legal Internship allows students to gain credit for undertaking advanced legal research and analysis on an approved international internship of at least eight weeks of full-time work in an approved international institution or organisation. This subject is focused on providing students with an opportunity to engage with legal and policy issues in contemporary society through work experience and further develop oral and written communication skills. Students are required to secure and fund their internships personally.

Students are encouraged to discuss their internship proposals with the subject coordinators. Students who successfully enrol in International Legal Internship must arrange a meeting with at least one of the subject coordinators both prior to their internship and upon completion, to develop a better understanding of research and the role of international institutions in international law and relations.